RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A frightened indoor cat that clung to a lofty treetop overnight was safely rescued on May 2, thanks to cooperation between the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and the Rancho Murieta Association Maintenance Department.

Neighbors cheered and clapped after the firefighter brought the cat down in the bucket of an RMA boom truck following a rescue that lasted around three hours. The rescue took place on Pera Drive, on the walkway that connects the street to Lago Drive near the mailboxes.

Jennipher Cowell, the cat’s owner, said he was one of five, two-day-old kittens that her family rescued and bottle-fed for eight weeks. Chungus has always been an indoor cat,  even though he often tried to sneak outside. But when he heard a dog bark, he ran back inside. This time was different.

Cowell and her daughters, Sophie and Glory, kept calling him until they finally heard him meowing in a tree. Distraught, Cowell and her daughters, who were crying, went to Station 59 about 10 p.m.

Cowell said the firefighters recognized the girls from a field trip but told them that they couldn’t take immediate action that night. They also thought it likely the cat would come down on its own.

When Chungus didn’t come down and climbed even higher, the firefighters responded in fire trucks with flashing lights about 9 a.m. 

Cowell said Firefighter Rob Santos climbed a ladder as high as possible and then began climbing up the branches. But when they became too thin for him to get any further, his captain called RMA Maintenance for help. 

RMA Maintenance Manager Troy Schaffner responded with the association’s boom truck, which is used for tree trimming. Cowell said they “really lucked out” because their house is located along the walking path, which allowed the boom truck to get in.

Because firefighters were worried the cat might scratch, Cowell sent the cat’s “comfy blanket” with Santos. But the firefighter didn’t need it because the cat came to him, and he could pick him up by the scruff of his neck and hold him without any issues, she said. 

Cowell appreciated the patience and helpfulness shown by the firefighters. 

“They were just so, so kind,” she said.